The Philippines and the United States have agreed to soon exchange military information following the visit of Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and US State Secretary Antony Blinken in Manila—two key US officials in Washington's defense posture in the Indo-Pacific region.

In a joint statement after the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue among Austin, Blinken, National Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. and Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, the secretaries committed "to conclude the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) by the end of 2024."

GSOMIA is a bilateral military deal for exchange of military information between the two countries.

"Together with the Philippines-United States Communications and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA), a Philippines-United States GSOMIA would lay the foundation for enhanced, expanded, and timely sharing of information and defense technology," their statement read.

GSOMIA would bolster the two countries' defense posture in the Indo-Pacific. It would complement the US' announcement to allocate $500 million in foreign military financing to the Philippines—the largest amount the country would ever receive in military aid.

"This unprecedented investment demonstrates the United States’ commitment to modernizing the Philippines-United States Alliance and deep support for enhancing the capability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to fulfill their territorial defense mission and contribute to regional security," the statement read.

Other military plans

During their dialogue, Austin, Blinken, Teodoro and Manalo also agreed to establish the Roles, Missions, Capabilities (RMC) Working Group for more frequent and regular policy and operational coordination.

The establishment of the RMC will support strengthening bilateral planning and interoperability by providing policy guidance for joint operations, activities, and investments of the two countries.

As the officials also discussed the importance of preserving the rights of all nations to fly, sail, and operate safely and responsibly or wherever international law allows, they also wanted to advance cybersecurity cooperation.

That would be done by investing in the cybersecurity capabilities of the Philippines, including the United States providing an integrated cyber range and training platform and on-demand training to develop and sustain a capable and skilled cyber workforce, which would support the AFP’s efforts to stand up a new Cyber Command.

The United States and the Philippines already integrated cyber into their military exercises, including during the Balikatan exercises.

Economic plans

Aside from discussions on military exchanges, the four officials talked about their plans for the Philippines' economy.

Manila and Washington reiterated the importance of ensuring that their alliance would promote security in its broadest sense by "building more resilient and sustainable communities and economies, increasing trade with more diverse and reliable partners, and deterring, countering, and mitigating harm from potential economic coercion."

To sustain the momentum of cooperation in key sectors, notably in renewable energy, agriculture and food security, critical minerals processing and semiconductors, and infrastructure investments sectors, the secretaries committed to the following:

• Follow through on the vital, ongoing discussions and cooperation in connection with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), and the PGI, among others
• Drive progress on identifying initial priority projects later this year for investment along the Luzon Economic Corridor
• Work towards the completion of a Threshold Program Agreement between the Philippines and MCC as soon as possible
• Continue collaborating to create more resilient, secure, and sustainable global value chains in critical sectors of mutual interest to the Philippines and the United States – to include in the Philippine and U.S. semiconductor industries – and to safeguard critical infrastructure and emerging technologies.
• Convene the 2nd U.S.-Philippines Energy Policy Dialogue in Manila
• Operationalize opportunities for closer bilateral cooperation on civil nuclear energy following the Philippines-United States bilateral 123 Agreement, and
• Advance private sector-led investment opportunities across the Philippines in partnership with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)